Return to the Labyrinth
by FieryCaptainSpiderSanta
Summary: I've grown up hearing fairy tales from my aunt, but my favorites were always her stories of the Goblin King. I always wished to meet him, but never had the courage. After all, be careful what you wish for... Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N- So, I watched** ** _Labyrinth_** **last night, partially as tribute to the late David Bowie, and I fell in love with it. The movie ended at midnight, and I was up until 2:30am reading fanfics about it. Then, an idea stuck, and badabing, badaboom, here we are!**

 **EDIT: So, as I was writing, I realized that I got the timeline off. So, ignore my previous time jump. This is roughly twenty-five years later.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth.**

"Ashlyn, I need you to babysit Gavin," my mom called up the steps.

I groaned, and rolled to my feet, setting my laptop next to me, before sticking my head around the top of the steps. "Why? I babysat last night."

"I know, but Aunt Sarah's been getting worse," she explained apologetically. "She wanted your father and I there tonight."

I bit my lip. My aunt had cancer, and we all knew she was living on borrowed time.

"Wait, why can't we come?" Besides the fact that I wanted to get out of babysitting, I loved visiting with Aunt Sarah, and hearing her stories. My favorite was always the one about the Goblin King.

"I don't know how late your father and I will be out, and it's already close to Gavin's bedtime," she pointed out. "Which should make your job easier, being as he has to be asleep soon."

I opened my mouth to protest more, but closed it when I saw her expression. "I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

"Sorry," She grinned, and made for the door. "I'll see you soon."

She left, and I stayed a moment longer, hanging in the doorway, before my brother started making noise, and I had to go yell at him. I opened his bedroom door, and poked my head in. "Hey, kid. Start getting ready for bed."

"I don't wanna!" The five-year-old stuck his tongue out at me. "You can't make me!"

I sighed internally, before grinning evilly to the outside. "You know, Gavin, I really don't want to be babysitting you. And, you have been grating on me all week. You should watch out, or else I'll call the Goblin King to come and take you away, just like Aunt Sarah always told us!"

By this time, I had fully entered his room, and started tickling him to get my point across. He tried not to laugh, but failed, and ended with a scream of outrage. "No! Stop!"

He swung at me, but I caught his wrist. I wagged a finger at him. 'Ah, ah, ah. Just a few simple words. I wish…"

I trailed off, and Gavin immediately stopped struggling. I let go of his hand, and could almost see the goblins stirring, hoping I'd finish the call. I could see the King rising, getting ready to come take my brother away.

I opened my eyes, and narrowed them at Gavin. "You better get ready for bed. Otherwise, I'll call him. And, unlike Aunt Sarah, I won't come to get you out."

I saw Gavin shiver, and offhandedly hoped he wouldn't get nightmares. I honestly didn't want to deal with that.

After he was asleep, I took my laptop out again, continuing the episode I was watching. But, I couldn't concentrate, and instead took out a small, old, red leather book that was gifted to me by my Aunt Sarah as soon as I was old enough to love books. I opened the book, paging lovingly through. I read until my eyelids were heavy, and sleep overtook me quickly, my dreams filled with imagery of the Goblin Kingdom.

I awoke early in the morning, just as the front door opened and closed softly. I heard muffled sobs, and made my way silently downstairs. I saw my mother and father sitting at the table, my mother the one sobbing, but both with tears in their eyes, attempting to comfort one another. There was nothing I hated more than seeing my family in pain, so I hesitantly stepped out from behind wall separating the stairway from the dining room. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong?"

They both looked up, and my mother wiped her eyes, beckoning me over to sit with her. I complied, kneeling so that she could stroke my head like she did when I was little. I looked up at her, confusion mixing with the fear of what I thought I knew she was going to say. But, nothing could prepare me for when she said it. "Aunt Sarah… she… she passed away last night."

I felt the tears flood, and I tried to choke back my sobs, but I couldn't hold them in. I cried, face buried in my mother's lap, as she continued to try to console me. "She was in pain, Ashlyn. It's… it's for the best."

"No, it's not," I whispered. "If she just held out longer, he would have come…"

"Who, darling?" I looked into my mother's deep blue eyes, matching my own, along with the rest of her features, and she could see in my face what my answer was. She sighed, stroking the chocolate brown hair that looked exactly like Aunt Sarah's, but matched neither my father's, nor my mother's. "Baby, you know he isn't real. You're getting too old for this."

"He is real," I protested fiercely. "I can feel it." I looked to my father, begging him to take my side. "You know. You were there."

"Even if I was," my father began, and I knew what he was going to say before he said it. "I would have been too young to remember. But, the Goblin King was just a story that your aunt made up, a dream that came from reading that book she gave you so many times."

I pulled away from them, and wiped my eyes, though the tears were coming back. A weight crushed upon my chest. I looked down, refusing to look either of them in the eye. "I'm going back upstairs. I want to be alone."

Before either of them could protest, I had run up the steps, and hid away in my room. I launched myself onto the bed, and buried my face in my pillow, letting everything out. After about ten minutes, I didn't feel as if I could cry anymore, but I needed something to get my mind off the tragedy. So, I did the only thing that might work.

I turned up my music, so I couldn't even hear myself think, and took out the book from Aunt Sarah, planning to lose myself in the pages, as I did so often. I couldn't concentrate after a few hours, though, and found myself sighing, placing the book next to me. I stared up at the ceiling, and lost myself in thought.

He loved her. The book said so, as did Aunt Sarah.

So, why didn't he save her? I know he has magic. Why not use it to save the woman he loved?

Another thing that was bothering me was my parents. Why were they so insistent that I grow up, and forget the fairy tales I loved so dearly? Especially now that Aunt Sarah was gone, I needed to hold on to the fantastical, to keep the memory of her alive.

Then there was Gavin. I didn't understand why I had to babysit him so often. It wasn't like I didn't love him, I just prefered being on my own. But, often as I may dream of it, I would never truly call for the goblins to take him away.

In short, I wanted nothing more than to get away from this god-awful world, even if just for a bit. Something more potent than sleep.

Something like goblins.

I sat up slowly, taking out my earbuds. I would never wish my brother to be taken away, mostly for the sake of my parents. But, who said I couldn't ask for them to take me away, if only for a little?

I looked out the window, where the sky was already darkening. It was mid winter, so night fell quickly. But, what was truly obscuring the sky were thick rainclouds, looking ready to burst. I sighed, resting my head against my window, debating myself. If the goblins were real, asking for them to whisk me away to an unknown world might not be the best idea. Besides, who's to say they would even comply? And if they weren't real, then I lost my final connection to Aunt Sarah, and would be forced to simply accept that she was gone, let her memory drift into the background of my life, becoming nothing but thoughts of an easier time.

The thought that this may happen crushed me, and I shut my eyes tight, forcing me to make up my mind.

"I wish," I whispered, desperately hoping that I was right in following my instincts. Then again, my instincts had never steered me wrong before. "I wish that the Goblin King would come and take me away."

 **A/N- So, that's chapter one!**

 **Word to the wise: I occasionally go off on random tangents in these author's notes. You can ignore them if you want, for the most part.**

 **Speaking of tangents, here's one now!**

 **Okay, so today in English we were looking at inkblots. I don't know why, we do the randomest things in that class. Anyway, the first one he pulls up, I look at it, and start laughing. He gives us a minute, then starts saying what others saw. He asked if any of us saw anything different, and called on me. I proudly proclaimed to the class "It looks like two flying goblins abducting a struggling child."**

 **There was silence, before one of my friends (who also loves this movie) started laughing as he realized where my mind had immediately gone.**

 **Then the second picture came up, and I knew I was obsessed, because I saw the scene where Jareth and Sarah were dancing.**

 **Anyway, that was all. Fave, follow, review, PM me, remember that all flames are used for roasting hotdogs and marshmallows, and worship the Goblin King!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N- I meant to update a few days ago, but I got distracted.**

 **So, I walked up to my friend this morning, and i was just like "You remind me of the babe."**

 **She** ** _cracked up_** **, and we proceeded to run down the hallways singing** ** _Magic Dance._** **Everyone gave us the weirdest looks. Because they are all uneducated.**

 **ALSO! I was texting my quarter-sister (she's my half-brother's half-sister. I don't know how else to describe her) and we were talking about the movie, and I realized that it is deep as shit and sad as fuck. Seriously, I was about damn ready to cry!**

 **Anyway, reviews!**

 **Jetredgirl: Thanks! (Though, I actually turned fourteen recently, I just forgot to update my profile. But, that's irrelevant.) Glad you liked it!**

 **JustRandomPerson: You get more, you get more! XD Glad you like it, thanks!**

 **God, you guys have no idea how much I love hearing your reviews. :D**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own _L_ _abyrinth._**

I watched as the clouds burst open, pouring mercilessly down, cracks of thunder and lightning illuminating the sky, and creating immense noise. Over the thunder, though, I could hear the sound of rustling around me, like little feet scrabbling around. Almost like…

My thoughts were interrupted by another flash of lightning and strike of thunder, but what followed the two of them was so much worse, at least to me.

The lights went out.

I had an irrational fear of the dark, which I was teased mercilessly for. I was scared enough, however, so that I almost had a panic attack when the power went out. I felt my breath quicken, and I curled up into a ball under my covers, trying fruitlessly to calm myself. I told myself that there was nothing that could hurt me, that nothing would magically appear in the seconds between when I could see my room, and when I couldn't.

That was when I felt the hand on my shoulder.

I froze, not even daring to breath. I wanted to scream, but no noise came out, only silent tears of terror. The blankets were gently removed, but u stayed curled up, until the hand was once again placed on my back. I felt equally comforted and scared, knowing down to my bones who this was, but almost hoping it wasn't him. Despite my inner protests, I slowly looked up, into the vibrant, mismatched eyes that had only existed in stories and my own imagination, until today. The eyes were really all I could see, being as it was still pitch black, and they seemed to almost give of a light of their own.

I took a deep breath, gathering my courage. (Or stupidity. To this day, I'm still not sure which it was.) "You're really him?"

I still couldn't see, but I could tell by the expression in his eye that he was smirking. "Well, of course, my dear. Who else would it be?"

I gulped, still attempting to regain some semblance of calm. But, there was no way that was going to happen. Not with _him_ sitting only inches away, in the inky darkness. "Is there any way to get a bit of light?"

My question sounded weak, but he made a crystal anyway, illuminating my room with a soft, ethereal light, and I could see the Goblin King clearly for the first time.

He was just like Aunt Sarah had described him. His style was like that from the 80s, with a showy black jacket, and tight black pants. His erotic blonde hair was a mullet (a fashion statement that I was still unsure about, but it made him no less scary in my mind), but his eyes were still the most prominent feature, and I could now see that they were accentuated by eyeshadow curling up to his eyebrows (again, weird choice, but it looked cool). "Better?"

Now able to see again, I could relax. I nodded, and smiled. "Much."

"You don't seem afraid of me anymore," he noted, raising an eyebrow.

I snorted. "I was never afraid of _you_. The _dark_ , however, _terrifies_ me."

"Why would that be?"

"Well, my fear of the dark is irrational, and most likely stems from my _incredibly_ active imagination," I explained. "And, why would I be _scared_ of you? You've always been my favorite fairy tale character, whenever my aunt told me stories."

"Stories?" Jareth asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, my eyes glazing over, smiling slightly as I reminisced to all the times Aunt Sarah had told me of the Goblin King in Kingdom. "Stories. Of the labyrinth, of the goblins, of the friends she made, and of the lone king who stole her heart." My gaze drifted back to his. "It wasn't always stories from the labyrinth, though. She told me all kinds of stories, from the Grimm Brothers, to mythologies. Anything that she knew I could relate back to you. And I always did. I could always find a connection, no matter how small."

He pondered my words, studying me carefully. "Who is your aunt?"

"Sarah Williams," I answered, smiling, knowing he would recognize the name. My smile fell, as I recalled why I summoned him. "She's gone, though. Died of cancer, last night. Always dreamed you'd come back, but she kind of knew you never would."

"Is that why you called me?" Jareth's tone was hard.

I gave him a somewhat hurt look. "What? No! Why would I do that? I called you because everyone wants me to forget you, forget the goblins, forget the labyrinth. I called you because I _can't._ Because letting go of you means letting go of her. Because I'm sick of living in a world where being imaginative is a bad thing, sets you apart, makes you an outcast, no matter how many people say otherwise. I called you because _I need to get away from here_."

"You realize that you're asking to become a goblin, correct?" he warned.

I raised an eyebrow, and sat up straighter. "What if I made a deal?"

Jareth narrowed his eyes. "What kind of deal?"

"You gave my aunt thirteen hours to get her brother back. It took her I'd say about eleven and a half. Give me eleven hours to make it through your labyrinth. If I do, I don't become a goblin, and get to stay with you. If I don't, I'm all yours."

"Eleven hours to make it through my labyrinth?" the King asked incredulously, before looking at me with a changed expression, almost as if he was admiring my stupidity. Yeah, I'm gonna go with what I was doing was stupid. Incredibly, utterly, completely _stupid._ Then again, the line between that and bravery is _unbelievably_ thin. "I don't know whether to be impressed, or insulted."

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, you can decide later. Do you accept my offer?"

"Why should I?" Jareth challenged. I realized that, like he did with my aunt, he was playing along with what I had wished for. I didn't view him as frightening; nor did I want him to be. But I never could resist a challenge.

"The way I see it, you have nothing to lose," I shot back. "You get entertainment out watching me go through, either way you get another subject to your kingdom, and if your labyrinth is as difficult as I hear, then the probability of me getting through in time is slim."

"What do you get out of it?" Jareth questioned, narrowing his eyes.

I sighed, looking out the window. "I get to say goodbye. In the only way she'd really want me to. Through the one thing that brought her closer to me than anyone else."

He was silent for a moment, before speaking. "Well, then. Better get going. No turning back now."

I turned around to see the labyrinth just as expansive and complicated as I'd imagined, with the grand castle standing in the center. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed that the King had disappeared. Refocusing my gaze forward, I grinned, and took a breath. This was going to be exciting. "Well, to put it in the immortal words of the greatest adventurer I have ever known, come on, feet!"

 **A/N- So, I made my seven-year-old brother watch the movie with me. He absolutely loved it, BTW, though he immediately stops whatever he's doing that may be remotely annoying to me the second I say 'I wish...' But, as we were watching, I one; sang along to every song that came on. Word-for-word. But, I also was able to remember _every stinking line_ , and recite them just before the scene came on. I had only watched the movie once before this. I feel as though I may be a tiny bit obsessed... Granted, that's not entirely unusual for me... XD**

 **Anyway, fave, follow, review, PM me, fear me, love me, do as I say and I shall be your slave. (Okay, not that last one. I'm headstrong like you wouldn't believe. YOU HAVE NO POWER OVER ME! XD)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N- Is it bad that I know this movie like the back of my hand, yet my grandmother had never seen it? I feel like that's a bad thing...**

 **This is normally where I'd respond to your reviews from Chapter 2, but I was too impatient to wait for you to review to update this one, so I'll just respond in Chapter 4.**

 **Disclaimer; I don't own _Labyrinth_.**

I made it to a pool, where I saw a dwarf spraying fairies. I cleared my throat, and he jumped, turning to face me. "You're Hoggle, right? I need to find the entrance to the labyrinth."

He eyed me warily. "Who are you?"

"My name's Ashlyn Williams," I answered. "Now, I really need to find the entrance, and I happen to know from a very good source that you can show me where it is."

"And what source would that be?" Hoggle asked, sniffing in disdain.

I raised an eyebrow, smirking inwardly. "My aunt. Sarah Williams."

"You're Sarah's niece?" Hoggle brightened. "How is she?"

I bit my lip, not really wanting to tell him. "She's… gone. But, I _really_ need to get through. I only have eleven hours. Can you help me?"

"Of course," he replied, sobering greatly. "It's right there."

He motioned behind me, and started walking, opening the door. I followed him in, and saw that I had two choices: left, or right. He turned to me, sadness in his eyes. "When did it happen? How?"

"She died peacefully, yesterday, from cancer," I told him, looking around. If what anything Aunt Sarah had told me was true, then there were many passages out of here, I just couldn't see them. I glanced back at Hoggle, and smiled sadly. "She told me about you all the time, you know. You, Ludo, Sir Didymus, King Jareth, the Fireys, the labyrinth, everything. She loved this place, she really did. So do I, although this is my first time here. I've grown up hearing stories about this place."

After inspecting my surroundings, staring carefully at the wall, and pondering my options, I made up my mind, and stepped closer to the wall, placing my hands carefully, and bracing my weight on them, as I took a step up, climbing to the top of the wall. I reached the top, and looked back down at Hoggle, who was staring up at me in bewilderment. "What're you doing up there?"

I grinned. "Partially getting my bearings. Inspecting the layout. Also, he never said I had to go _through_ the labyrinth. So, _I'm_ going _over_."

"I'm fairly sure this is cheating," Hoggle said, though he climbed up, anyway. I held a hand out to help him, pulling him over to sit beside me.

I gave him a mischievous smirk. "Cheating is the loser's way of saying winning cleverly. And, I _have_ always been known for my wit."

Hoggle simply gave me an uncertain look, but I ignored it, standing up, and judging the distance from this wall, to the next. It was only a few feet; I was certain I could make it.

"What are you thinking?" Hoggle asked, with a hint of warning in his voice.

I didn't look at him as I replied, eyeing the ledge carefully, and preparing myself for both the jump, and the landing. "I'm going to jump across."

"Are you insane?!" he yelped.

"Probably," I laughed. "Then again, I've always been pretty good at the long jump, and sticking the landing."

I crouched, tensing my muscles. _It's not as far as it looks,_ I assured myself. _You take it for granted that you can't make it, but you will._

I took a deep breath, and leaped, landing neatly on the next wall. I turned back to Hoggle. "Thank you for your help. You don't need to come with me, if you don't want to."

"I won't make it, missy," he replied nervously.

"Well, then, I'll see you once I make it through," I grinned, and turned away, preparing to jump to the next ledge.

"Wait!" Hoggle called. I stood, and looked back at him questioningly. "Good luck."

I smiled, giving him a nod. "Thank you, Hoggle."

With that, he hopped down from his ledge, and I continued to jump along.

* * *

After a few hours, I came across a spot where I couldn't jump across, or run along the top to reach a spot where I could. Though, I could proudly admit that the castle _did_ look a bit closer. I bit my lip, not wanting to get down, but knowing that I had to. Sighing, I leaped gracefully down, bending my knees and ankles to absorb the shock. Glancing around, I saw two doors ahead of me, one red and the other blue. I smirked, knowing what they were, and walked up to them. "Hello."

Two heads popped out from underneath.

"Hello," the blue one replied.

"What can we do for you?" Blue piped up.

"I need to get through," I said. "I know one of you lies, while the other tells the truth. So, I have one request."

"What would that be, m'lady?" Red questioned.

I held my arms out to both of them. "Hit my arm."

"What?" they asked simultaneously.

I smirked. "Slap my arm. Hard as you can."

They hesitated, but complied. I took a step toward the red door. "Okay, will your door lead me to the castle?"

"How do you know I'm not the liar?" Red asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "Everyone knows that the truth hurts more in the present. Lies are painful, but they take a while to hurt. When you slapped my arm, it hurt immediately. My other arm is just now starting to sting. So, _are you the door that will take me to the castle?_ "

"Yes," he replied simply.

I smiled. "Well, then, I choose you."

The door opened, and I hopped through, only to begin falling. I shrieked, and a series of hands on the wall caught me. I laughed in relief, and looked at them. "Helping Hands. Thank you."

A face was made from the disembodied hands across from me. "You're welcome. Up, or down?"

"Neither," I challenged.

"Neither?" the hands asked incredulously. "You only have two choices: up or down?"

"I choose neither," I repeated, enunciating every syllable. "I know this is the right door, and I also know that nothing is as easy as up or down. So, I don't want to go either way."

"Well, which way would you go instead?" A new face appeared, challenging me.

"The other way," I grinned evilly. "Take me the other way."

The hands paused, before I was enveloped, absorbed into the wall, and spit back out in a dark, round cavern, with no apparent exit.

"An oubliette," I growled, recognizing this from Aunt Sarah's tales. "Great."

This is what I get for trying to be clever.

I sighed, and began searching the walls for a way out. Finding nothing, I yelled in frustration, smacking my palm against the wall. I leaned my forehead on it, closing my eyes to try to come up with a plan. Jareth was all about riddles, scenarios that you had to think your way out of. Coming up with nothing, I opened my eyes, and what I was standing on caught my attention. A red blanket, covering something hard, and relatively large. Stepping back, I crouched down to uncover the object, and discovered a small wooden door. Grinning, I braced my hands underneath it, ready to push it up. With a heave and a tremendous amount of effort, I was able to get it on the wall. I stood back, hands on my hips, and let out a breath. I pulled open the door, revealing an underground passage. I stepped out, and started walking the only way I could. Forward.

* * *

After a long while of walking, I came across a dead end, the pass barred by thick iron posts. I was stuck here. I sighed, and leaned against a wall.

What I was not expecting when I leaned on the wall, however, was to fall through.

With a shriek, I fell backwards, landing painfully on my butt. I looked around, and saw that I was in a little alcove that branched off from the main hall. I spotted a ladder, and stood up, not quite believing my luck. I began to scale it, climbing for the light at the top.

Coming out, I saw that I was in a large forest, with light filtering through the canopy. I huffed, and looked around, feeling lost. I glanced up at one of the trees, debating what I wanted to do. I knew that I needed to get my bearings, so scaling the tree it was.

I climbed to the top, though with some difficulty, as the tree's branches started a good way up. regardless, I made it to the top, and looked around, noting with a bit of glee that the castle wasn't too far off, and I recognized the forest. I looked over my shoulder, and immediately squinted, blinded by the sun. I gauged how far it had moved since I arrived, and determined that I had been in the labyrinth for about six hours already. I grinned, and climbed down.

"Five hours left," I said aloud to no one in particular. "I think I can do this!"

"I wouldn't be so sure," a voice purred behind me. I turned, to see the Goblin King leaning against a tree, twirling a crystal ball in his hand. "Time runs differently here. I thought you knew that?"

I shrugged. "I kind of assumed that meant the sun moved different, as well. But, if I was off in my assumptions, how long _have_ I been here?"

"You have four hours left," he replied, waving a dismissive hand to the clock beside him. "The path you chose with the Hands took an hour to get through."

I nodded, thinking. "Okay, then. Four hours. I still think I can do this."

"Easy for you, is it?" He smirked, and I returned it with a dark look, knowing that I had to be careful what I said.

"I did not say that."

"Oh, is it too hard then?" Jareth asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "I didn't say that, either. I neither confirm nor deny the difficulty of this maze. I offer _absolutely no fucking opinion._ "

"Language, language," he tsked.

I snorted. "I'm running through a magical maze because my aunt died, unofficially having a battle of wits against a Goblin King, and have four hours to secure my humanity. I'll curse if I fucking want to."

"Your aunt was not _nearly_ as rude as you are," Jareth said, raising an eyebrow. "Nor did she cheat her way through."

I smirked. "Okay, one; in order for cheating to have occurred, then wouldn't rules have to have been laid out? The only rule I got was getting to the castle in eleven hours or less. There also would have had to be a semblance of fairness, which this place is infamous for being severely lacking in. Two, as I said to Hoggle earlier, and have used as an excuse my entire life, to the point that it has basically become my motto, cheating is just the loser's way of saying winning cleverly."

"You already assume you have won?" Jareth asked. "Well, we'll just have to up the stakes a bit, then."

With a wave of his hand, the clock sped forward, subtracting an hour from my time limit.

"Yeah, okay, well, if you're gonna do that, then I really have to be on my way," I spun on my heel, walking away from him. I had to admit, I _did_ have a bit of sass to me, which was often kind of rude. It came with being clever, I suppose.

"Three hour left," he called. "I'd get a move on."

"What do you think I'm doing?" I called over my shoulder.

* * *

I continued walking for a while, until I heard music and singing from not to far off. If I recalled from Aunt Sarah's stories, there was one very good probability as to whom the song was coming from, and it was _not good._

 _Shit shit shit shit shit._ My mind went on replay, cursing my luck (though mostly Jareth) for coming across the Fireys. Hopefully, I could get away from them, or find a place to hide, lest they sing, dance, waste my time, and possibly try to remove my head. Not one of those options really seemed desirable at this time.

I sped up, and tread more carefully, almost silent as I ran through the forest. I could still hear them, though, and they seemed to be getting closer. My breath quickened, and I glanced over my shoulder, rounding a corner, returning my gaze to the front only in time to run face-first into a shaggy, orange-haired wall. I yelped as I was knocked backwards, landing on the hard ground.

The mass of hair turned around, and I saw that it was actually a large, hairy beast, with two large, curling horns coming from either side of its head, and a pair of large teeth protruding from its lower jaw. It looked at me with confusion, but I grinned, recognizing yet another being from the stories I heard. "Ludo!"

"Who… you?" he asked in his slow, broken speech.

I stood, brushing the dirt off me. "My name's Ashlyn. I'm Sarah's niece. You were Sarah Williams' friend, right?"

"Sawah… friend!" Ludo replied excitedly.

I heard the Fireys getting closer, and glance nervously over my shoulder. "Listen, Ludo, I have to make it through the labyrinth, just like Aunt Sarah did, and I'm in a bit of trouble right now. Can you please help me?"

"Help… friend," Ludo agreed.

I sighed in relief. and began walking, motioning for him to come with me. "Can you help me get to the castle? Or, at least, to Sir Didymus?"

Ludo nodded, and the two of us set off. I felt slightly safer, feeling as though the Fireys wouldn't attack, as long as I had a creature that appeared as frightening as Ludo. Although I knew that he was relatively harmless, the _Fireys_ did not, and I saw no reason to tell them. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw them at the edge of the pathway, looking nervous, before they ran off in the other direction. Keeping my sly grin to myself, I hurried after Ludo, who had gotten slightly ahead.

 **A/N- I rewrote this chapter, like, three times. I'm not all that fond of it. Or this story, for that matter, but I'm usually fairly insecure about my work, anyway. Then I get messages from all of you, and my friends/family (when and if I'm brave enough to share it with them) that tell me you like it, and I'm like 'I dunno, but okay. I'll keep writing. If a bunch of random people like it, it has to be at least _halfway_ decent.' XD Anyway, that was fairly irrelevant, and you all probably don't care about that. I highly doubt anyone reads these author's notes, anyway.**

 **You wanna know when you're a bored, insecure, writer with insomnia? When you're up at 2am, changing all of the titles for you stories in Google Docs to anagrams, or random titles. XD I like to write my stories during class, after I've finished my work. but, I'm always afraid that people are going to look over my shoulder, and see the title of whatever I'm working on, and figure out what I'm doing. I don't know why. But, I changed all of the titles, at least of the stories I was writing.**

 **My two personal favorites are Red Taco Droughts, and Lithuania. (the second one isn't an anagram, it's a completely random title I came up with XD)**

 **Shout-out to anyone who can tell me which two stories those are! And, if you get the second one, I'll write a one-shot Jareth/Sarah story for you! (It would be preferable if you could give me a prompt, but I can make one up, too!)**

 **Okay, I'm done. fave, follow, review, and PM me!**

 **(Jeez, has any of you noticed how often I say 'Anyway', or 'Okay', or some other transition like that? I feel like I overuse them! XD)**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N- Okay, so, the winner of the contest is... *drumroll***

 **No one!**

 **Yeah, none of you participated. So, I'm leaving the contest open until I finish the story. Don't worry, I'll remind you every once in a while.**

 **Next chapter, I might just give you a hint for the second one, depending on how generous I feel. (In case you are wondering, I am completely open to bribes! XD) We'll seeeeeeee...**

 **Reviews!**

 **Guest: XD Thanks! Yeah, I was watching the movie, and thinking of the things I would do differently (I usually do that, it's how the majority of my stories get written) and I just thought 'you know, I would probably go over the walls.' I mean, I** ** _love_** **climbing, and I'm pretty good about landing,** ** _and_** **he never** ** _technically_** **said I couldn't, soooo... XD Glad you like it!**

 **K: *Sarcastically* Nope. You get nothing. Nothing at all. This is definitely not an update. (This is not the update you are looking for. *waves hand like Jedi*)(Yes, I realize, I am pathetic. XD) Glad you like it!**

 **AvengerFrost: Thank you! Glad you like my writing. :D (And, yes, I do recognize you from one of my other stories. I just don't remember which one. I feel like it was one of my earlier ones... I'm gonna guess Nocte? XD I dunno, I have a bad memory...)**

 **PaleJewel1: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Your support means a lot.**

 **For those of you who missed the memo I updated in Chapter One, here is what I said:**

 **The timeline has changed from 40 years in the future, to 25. It just fits better. Nothing else was changed, don't worry.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own _Labyrinth_.**

Apparently, Ludo did _not_ know the way to the castle, as we were still walking in the forest almost an hour later. We were trekking in silence, and I had taken to walking a bit behind him.

Yeah, that was a mistake.

The ground opened up beneath me, and I was swallowed into a dark, dirty tunnel leading who-knows-where.

* * *

When I popped out, I promptly died.

Or, at least, I wish I had.

At the very least, I was about ready to amputate my nose.

I was, without a doubt, at the Bog of Eternal Stench. Aunt Sarah's words of immense disgust, repugnance, and abhorrence did not nearly describe the awful smell filling my nostrils to the point of my almost puking.

As I was gagging, a small fox on a very shaggy dog rode up, pausing when he saw me.

"My lady!" he yelped, jumping down and trotting over to me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I croaked, attempting to plug my nose. The taste was worse than the smell, however, and I knew that I'd just have to suck it up. "Just, you know, fell down a hole to the Bog of Eternal Stench. I'm doing _peachy_." I stood up, and brushed myself off.

"Well, what is a maiden like yourself doing here, might I ask?" the fox, who I am assuming is Sir Didymus, inquired.

"I'm trying to get to the castle," I replied. "I only have a few hours left, and I'm completely lost. Could you help me?"

"Why, of course, my dear lady!" Sir Didymus exclaimed. "I would be most honored to take on this perilous quest! Right this way, my lady."

I followed him as he mounted Ambrosius, jogging lazily alongside the dog. "I'm Ashlyn Williams, by the way. I'm assuming you're the brave Sir Didymus? I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Truly?" Didymus beamed at me, and I nodded with a smile. "From whom have you heard these tales?"

"My Aunt Sarah," I answered. "Sarah Williams, She was here, oh, about… twenty years ago? Looked a bit like me? Trying to save her baby brother, also made friends with Hoggle and Ludo?"

"Ah, Lady Sarah!" Sir Didymus replied. "Yes, I remember her! You are of her family? What has become of the fair maiden, might I inquire?"

I sobered. "Oh, she, uh… passed on. Yesterday. Cancer. She died peacefully, though."

Didymus' happy countenance was lowered, and he took off his hat, placing it over his chest. "Truly a tragedy. May I offer my condolences, Lady Ashlyn."

I smiled sadly at him, and we continued walking in silence.

About and hour later, and we were at the edge of the Bog, my nose long since gone. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the heaps of useless trash in the Junkyard. I could clearly see the wall of the Goblin City, and knew that I wasn't too far off.

I picked my way carefully over the trash, not sure how Ambrosius was able to do it, with his four big, clumsy paws. I yelped and threw my hands out, as the pile below me began moving. I was thrown off-balance, and tumbled into a heap. When I picked myself up, there was an old lady with a boatload of trash tied to her back glaring at me. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry," I apologized. "I didn't see you there. But, I assure you that I didn't mean to stand on you."

The lady snorted. "Where are you off to in such a hurry that you can't watch where you're going?"

"The castle," I replied, looking off in the direction of the city. Sir Didymus was still riding stoically ahead, oblivious to my falling behind. "I'm running the labyrinth."

"Now, why would you do a thing like that?" she asked. "Everything you were looking for is right here."

I raised an eyebrow, and glanced around the junkyard. "Sorry to disappoint, lady, but I'm not looking for anything materialistic. You see, I'm not like that. I'm running to escape. I'm not running _to_ someone King Jareth took. I'm running _away_ from everything wrong with the world. So, if you'll excuse me, I need to get going."

"Oh, don't you think you've run long enough, girly?" she said. "You could just stay here, with everything you could ever need."

I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah, no. I'm what you could call _ambitious_. There's no way I'm settling for a junk heap, when there is a castle just over there. So, thanks for nothing, but I'm gonna go now."

With that, I continued climbing, tuning out the woman's cries. I picked my way back to Sir Didymus, careful to not step on any more junk people.

* * *

It didn't take us much longer to reach the gates of the Goblin City. I turned to the small fox-terrier knight and smiled. "Thank you so much, Sir Didymus. But, I have to go on alone from here."

"Are you certain, my lady?" he asked. "Ambrosius and I would be more than glad to accompany you further."

I shook my head. "No, really. I'll be fine. I would prefer to do this last part alone. I'm running the labyrinth to mourn her, after all. I have to fly solo from here on out."

Sir Didymus bowed his head. "Very well. If you must, you must. Though, I will tell you the same thing I told Lady Sarah. If you need me, you need only call, and I shall come."

I smiled down at him. "Thank you, Sir Didymus. For everything."

With that, I turned away from him, and began to scale the wall leading me into the Goblin City.

 **A/N- So, yeah. That's that.**

 **As I was editing this, I read 'Bog of Eternal Stench' out of the corner of my eye, and, for some reason, it registered as 'Bog of Etch-A-Sketch'. XD I have no idea why, it just did. 'Cause I'm weird like that.**

 **Remember, the contest was to see if you could guess which story of mine goes with the weird titles, which were:**

 _ **Lithuania**_

 **and**

 ** _Red Taco Droughts._**

 **If you guess which story Lithuania is, I post a Jareth/Sarah one-shot in your honor!**

 **Okay, I'm done advertising. Fave, follow, review, and PM me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N- Hai. I'm back.**

 **Reviews!**

 **ThePhantomismyLove: We'll see... we'll see...(I'm not always what you would call 'kind' to my characters, so it really could go either way. XD)**

 **Bree O'Malley: Thanks! Glad you like the story!**

 **Savysnape7: I'm just gonna reply to all of your reviews here because I'm lazy. XD I'm really glad you like my story. And, for the junk lady, then I thought 'Well, she's fighting to keep who she is, while simultaneously running from her problems. A person as clever as her wouldn't stop there, before they got what they wanted, and felt that they had run far enough. So, basically, she would never be satisfied there, and would just keep running, anyway.' That, and it would make the story way too short and anti-climactic. XD**

 **JustRandomPerson: Yeah, I realize that. This one's short, too, but the next one is longer, don't worry! And, no, sorry, Nova Initia isn't right for either. I will tell you that neither is in that fandom, though. Good guess, though! :D**

 **Oh, and the conversation between Ashlyn and Jareth in this chapter is pretty much all LovelyAmberLight's idea. I just tweaked it a bit to fit what I wanted. So, major thanks to you, LovelyAmberLight!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** ** _Labyrinth_** **.**

I stood at the top of the wall, surveying the city that expanded before me, and the best possible route to the castle. Seeing so many goblins made me wary, but there was nothing I could do. Figuring that walking down the main road wouldn't bring me any less attention than winding my way through the alleyways and back roads, but it _would_ take me to the castle sooner, I determined that that would be my course.

I leaped down from the wall, and hissed in pain when I landed wrong on my ankle. I straightened carefully, and took a few hesitant steps forward. The pain was there, but it wasn't unbearable, and I knew that I could still easily walk. So, I made for the Castle beyond the Goblin City.

The roads were cobblestone, and not at all welcoming for my tired feet. The houses all looked pretty much the same; stone, small, with wooden roofs. The goblins scurried around on their daily business, whatever that may be. Most of it appeared to be terrorizing chickens.

Speaking of which, there was one that apparently had a death wish, because it kept following me, clucking incessantly. I was about ready to start calling it 'Dinner'.

Instead, I simply walked through the quiet, stone city, throwing glares at any goblins that looked at me. Apparently, I could look quite fearsome in my tired, haggard, sick-of-this-bullshit state, my murderous glares warding off anyone, because none of them bothered me.

"You remind me of your aunt," Jareth's voice caught my attention. The chicken squawked in terror, and fled. He was leaning up against a statue of himself, arms folded and knee bent with his foot resting on the stone behind him. "You both can be quite surprising."

"Go away," I kept walking. I was almost there at this point. There was no way this bastard was stopping me now. I just wanted this to be over. My feet were sore. My legs ached. And the last thing I wanted to do was to talk about my late aunt Sarah, especially with the man..er... goblin… thing who betrayed her.

Jareth stiffened, but kept his features under control. It was probably a rare thing for someone to dare give him an order, especially a fifteen-year-old mortal girl. He shrugged off his statue, and appeared in front of me, but I simply brushed past him.

"She loved you," I accused.

"Did she?" Jareth voice sounded almost bored.

I whirled around, ready to give the monarch a piece of my mind. And possibly an introduction to my fist. But when I turned to face him, he wasn't there. I sighed, though it sounded quite reminiscent of a growl, and turn back only to come face to face with the king. I let out a small shriek at the start, something that I would deny until the day I died.

Jareth tipped his head to the side, watching me. I simply stood, glowering at him. He smirked, knowing he'd put me on edge.

"Y... Yes," I recovered. "She did." I moved around the King. "And you just let her die. If you'd brought her here..."

"She didn't wish herself away."

I stopped. Pausing, I let his words sink in. "You... you can't bring someone here." I turned around. "Without a wish?" I finished.

"Correct."

"Well, I wish you'd taken my Aunt Sarah away right before the doctor's said she had cancer."

Jareth laughed. "And what good would that do?" he asked. "You'd only run the labyrinth to get her back. You would have cheated just like you've been cheating. You'd never have let her become one of us." The Goblin King grimaced. "Pointless." He waved his hand in the air like he was waving away the conversation. "No matter," he pronounced. "What's done is done. It's too late now."

He stepped uncomfortably close to me. I stepped back, bumping into a house behind me. Jareth leaned in close. "Why should I worry about Sarah," he asked me, "when I have you?" The monarch looked me in the eyes. "And what a lovely goblin you'll make."

In a puff of glitter, the king was gone, leaving me with a roller coaster of emotions.

My breathing sped up. I could feel my grief trying to force me into crying, but I refused, shoving back the sobs trying to force their way out of my throat. Aunt Sarah was gone. Gone! The tears I had been fighting broke loose, and started running down my cheeks.

"It's not fair!" I shouted, kicking a nearby stone. This behavior was really unlike me, but I didn't care. "If he'd promised not to turn aunt Sarah into a goblin," I whispered, voice hoarse, "I'd forfeit running for her."

 _Or I'd take her place._ I thought to myself. I took a deep breath, stood up tall, and wiped the tears off my cheeks. "I'm not going to end up a goblin," I pronounced, remembering the king's taunt. "I might want to live here, but he is _not_ going to have power over me."

I started down the stony road once more. I moved quickly, with new vigor in my steps.

* * *

(Third Person POV)

Hidden nearby Jareth watched the runner in one of his crystals. He was smiling. "We'll see, little Williams. We'll see." The crystal popped, leaving the area empty. The king had work to do. He had been far too generous with the human.

 **A/N-Yes, I realize this chapter is short. But, don't worry, the next chapter will be up in a few hours at most. You're welcome.**

 **Haha, I just realized that I forgot to give you my hint last chapter. So, here it is:**

 **One of the two is my third-newest story. The other one is an anagram, and I'm not giving you a hint for it. Because there are ton of sites that solve anagrams. :D Goodluck!**

 **Yeah, that's all. Fave, follow, review, and PM me!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N- So, this is going to be the last chapter, at least in this story. But, fret not, friends, for I have ideas for a sequel, already running through my mind! (Actually, so far, I'm just picturing scenes between Ashlyn and Paeris, but that's still gonna lead into the new story...)(By the way, Paeris is introduced in this chapter. The idea for Paeris came from LovelyAmberLight.)**

 **By the way, the majority of this chapter came from an idea from LovelyAmberLight, who, again, is awesome.**

 **Reviews!**

 **JustRandomPerson (from C2): XD Yeah, I do that, too. And, don't worry, by the time you read this, you'll be all caught up for the sequel!**

 **Guest: Glad you liked it! Though I can't really take much credit for that, like I said, that entire conversation was pretty much written by LovelyAmberLight. I'm happy you like my story, though!**

 **HEY EVERYONE GUESS WHAT?!**

 **WE HAVE A WINNER FOR MY CONTEST!**

 **To Savysnape7, yes, you were correct. 'Red Taco Droughts' is 'Doctor's Daughter', and 'Lithuania' is HIBMW. Glad you were able to figure it out! I'll hopefully have your one-shot written soon, and if you have any requests, just PM me, or tell me in a review. If not, I'll just make one from scratch, it honestly doesn't bother me either way.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** ** _Labyrinth_**.

I finally made it to the castle, after about an hour of walking through the Goblin City. The massive doors in front of me proved to be my next challenge, being too large and heavy for me to push open on my own.

I stepped back, sighing, trying to figure out what to do. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the goblins, still running around without purpose. I turned to them, and called out, hoping to be able to convince them to help me. "Hey! Goblins! Can you come open the door for me?"

The only response I got from them was laughing, which I had to admit pissed me off a bit. Then, an idea popped into my mind. "Fine, you wanna be like that? I wish the goblins would open the castle doors for me, right now."

They all stopped, and faced me, surprise and hesitancy on their faces, but I knew that I had them. I smirked, and a bunch came over, helping me to push open the large doors. As soon as the doors were open, they all disappeared, not even going back to whatever they were doing. I didn't need them anymore, though, so this didn't bother me. I walked in, looking around suspiciously.

There were no other doors, only a staircase winding up. With no other choice, I began scaling them, and was led to the Escher-like staircase that Aunt Sarah had always told me about. The only problem now, was that I had no idea where to go.

Suddenly, I heard a very familiar voice call out softly, like a whisper in the back of my mind. "Ashlyn."

The voice repeated, and I tried to follow it, but I was led nowhere. After a few minutes, I recalled what Aunt Sarah had to do, in order to be led to her final face-off with Jareth. Taking a shaky breath, I glanced over the staircase, and knew what I had to do.

I jumped.

I fell through nothingness, watching as the Escher stairs and the rest of the castle disappeared around me, crumbling into nothing. I landed, and was embraced by soft arms that had been ingrained in my mind since I was a child, but thought I'd never feel again. I leaned into her, breathing in the familiar smell, before my eyes shot open with sudden realization, and I took a few steps away.

I looked at my aunt, just as I remembered her from before she got sick. Her dark, chocolate-colored hair that looked so much like mine fell over her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled. The realization that she was alive, that she had led us all to believe that she was sick and dying, that she _lied to me_ _,_ hurt. It hurt a lot.

I turned away from her, unable to face the aunt that I loved so dearly, but who had betrayed my trust. Instead, my eyes landed on Jareth, and my expression hardened into fierce anger.

 _He_ was the reason she did this. _He_ was the reason I was heartbroken first over the death of a dear family member, then the cognizance of my aunt's betrayal. _He_ , my favorite character from my favorite story to hear, _bloody fucking lied to me!_

I stalked over to him, and slapped him, hard, in the face.

It was extremely satisfying.

He looked back up at me, a fire of indignation in his eyes, but I paid no mind to it, jabbing my finger angrily in his direction. " _You! You_ made me think she was dead. _You_ made me run through that bloody fucking labyrinth for no fucking reason! _You lied to me!_ You lied to whom I'm willing to bet is the _only_ child to ever actually be _happy_ to see you, and not bloody fucking terrified!"

"I never lied to you," he hissed, rage in his face. "I never once agreed to your presumptions of Sarah's passing. And, might I remind you, _you_ asked to traverse my labyrinth!"

" _To say goodbye to the aunt you fucking had with you all along!_ " I yelled. "The least you could have done was to say 'oh, yeah, by the way, your dead aunt? Yeah, she's not dead, in fact, she's here in the castle with me.'"

"You wished her here," he replied haughtily. " _I_ complied with that wish."

"You said that that was pointless!" I argued. "You waved away that conversation like it was nothing!"

"So you presume," he sniffed. "Did you ever consider that I had indeed brought her?"

"So, you lied to me?" I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms.

The Goblin King looked about ready to send me to the Bog of Eternal Stench for the rest of time, when my aunt cleared her throat, and shot him a warning look.

"Remember our deal, Jareth," she admonished. "You agreed that you wouldn't hurt her."

"And I haven't," he sighed, clearly attempting to calm himself, before shooting me a glare, which I returned with equal vehemence. "Though your niece would do well to learn some manners. You were arguably much more polite."

"Yeah, well, manners have never been my thing," I sneered. "You said it yourself earlier, I may look like her, but I act nothing like my aunt."

"What's said is said. I have upheld my part of the deal, I do believe you have yours to fulfill, Precious." The Goblin king extended his hand toward Aunt Sarah, turning back to her, apparently choosing to ignore my words. Hesitantly, she reached for his hand. Jareth grinned like the cat who got the cream.

"Wait, what the hell's going on?" I asked, looking confusedly between the two, my anger immediately dissipating.

"A contract, my dear," the King responded. He looked into Sarah's eyes. "Do you fear me?"

"Yes."

"Do you love me?"

I could see Aunt Sarah's breathing speed up by the rapid rise and fall of her chest. "Y...yes."

"Will you do as I say?"

My aunt clenched her jaw, and I narrowed my eyes, beginning to connect the pieces of what was going on.

"Sarah," Jareth warned.

"Yes," she answered, resigning herself to the power Jareth held over her.

"Then by goblin law I take you as my wife... forever."

I gasped, understanding that somehow this had all been a set up. The cancer, Aunt Sarah's death, all of it had been orchestrated by the Goblin King to ensure she was his. I held up a finger, and took a breath, but didn't release it, still trying to connect the last few pieces. "Hold up, let me get this straight. You," I pointed to Jareth, "set this entire thing up, from her death to me making that wish and getting here, making a deal with my aunt to ensure my safe passage, that you were most likely going to give me, regardless, being as you _needed_ me to get here, in return for her hand in marriage."

The King raised an eyebrow, glancing from his new wife, to me. "That would be correct."

I let go of the breath I had taken, and nodded slowly, absorbing this information. "I honestly feel like I should punch you, or at the very least slap you again, but you know what? I am honestly too fucking tired and confused to give a shit anymore."

Aunt Sarah moved came to me, embracing me in a hug.

"Aunt Sarah, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I couldn't help but feel like this was my fault.

"No," she answered softly. "It's alright." She looked me in the eyes. "I love him." She glanced at her shoes. "In his own way, in a goblin way, I think he loves me too."

"Sarah, come," came the king's command. Jareth ordered his younger brother to take charge of me while they were away. And I nearly melted when I laid eyes on my temporary guardian. My heart pounded in my ears. My legs felt weak. All conscious thought fled my mind. My usual smooth-talking, never-at-a-loss-for-words, silvertongue failed me, turning to lead. For the first time, I understood how someone could fear the person they loved. And, if the look on Jareth's brother's face was anything to go by, I knew I was in deep trouble.

Aunt Sarah gave me a sly look, raising an eyebrow. "You gonna be okay while we're gone, Ashlyn?"

"Uh, _'_ _okay'_ is a relative term," I gulped weakly. To say the least, I was in some deep shit. Shaking my head, I tore my eyes away from Jareth's brother- who was introduced as Paeris, and looked instead at my aunt. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

She smirked, and I would have rolled my eyes if I was capable of normal brain function, before she and Jareth disappeared, and I was left alone with the incredibly _hot_ brother of the man my aunt had just married.

Paeris raised an eyebrow, and held out an arm for me. "Shall we return to the castle, Lady Ashlyn? You appear tired."

I nodded, my breath catching in my throat as I placed my arm in his, and he showed me to my new room.

 _Stupid teenage hormones_ _,_ I cursed, before my train of thought _completely_ derailed. _I wonder if it's still incest if we're not blood-related? I wonder if the goblins care?_

Goddamn it, I was wholly fucking screwed.

 **A/N- So, I have no idea what to call the next one. Any ideas? Anyone? It's probably going to be something shitty without your guys' help.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked the story! It's probably only, like the second one I've finished, so yaaay! Celebrations!**

 **Fave, review, PM me, and keep an eye out for the sequel**


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